


Honestly Now

by speakgreektome (epicionly)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Established Relationship, Flirting, Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, M/M, Repairs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-05 01:48:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13377546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epicionly/pseuds/speakgreektome
Summary: Leon, eternal workaholic, replaces some pipes.





	Honestly Now

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yourhandiheld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourhandiheld/gifts).



> let me tell y'all that when this fic was initially written i was like "haha, it could be, pre-slash" and now it's just turned into the gayest thing i own... bless bless bless 2018
> 
> Credits to [Jay](http://yourhandiheld.tumblr.com) for just being absolutely lovely and also giving me prompts for what is clearly one of the best Bonus Post scenes we have ever seen on the face of the planet! LOVE YOU MELETH<3

Full darkness surrounds them in the underground of Hollow Bastion's sewers, dark enough to barely see your own hands without a light to lead the way. With that, it’s a wonder the Heartless haven’t come to check up on them, crawling out of the blackness that they do.

Then again, once cleared out of the area, they tend to mind their own business. Leon would consider it somewhat (mildly) humorously considerate if he were in the habit of reminiscing about Heartless habits like Yuffie. At the moment, it’s the furthest musing from his mind. Any musing, actually.

 _No good_ , Leon thinks, attempting to swipe at his damp hairline with the inside of his elbow. It slides right across, slippery, inciting a deeper scowl. He tries to rub it with his t-shirt sleeve next, only for his forehead to come off damper than it was before and frustration seeping into his already dour mood.

“Yuffie." Leon sighs now, squinting ahead. He's clearly not learned from history, because now he's wiping the underside of his chin with the back of his hand only to realize it's slick there too from the sweat and oil. Breathing in, he then lets out another heavy sigh. “Any chance you could shine the light back higher again?”

“You’re so whiny,” Yuffie says, trying again for a better angle. “I almost take back me offering to hold it instead of your teeth.” It’s a ribbing they both know she won't be following through with; they're both tired, and this is the fifth burst pipe region they've had to fix yet, trudging back and forth in claustrophobic tunnels where the cold, mucky waters drag down their legs.

Yuffie's not used to this pace, Leon knows. At least, not in an area where her eyes aren't of use to her. But she's also the type to be too stubborn to leave something alone once she's managed to egg her way into it.

“You could go back,” Leon offers eventually, because that's the best way for both of them. Almost immediately, he can almost see and hear her scowl in response.

As it is, Yuffie is hardly ever silent in her discontent: she makes a loud groan and kicks the water, causing a small wave to splash up the back of Leon's pants and back. This pushes the light so far up that the reflection from the water on the pipes practically blinds him.

Leon sets his teeth, hand flying up to block it. “Yuffie.”

She moves the glare away, clicks the flashlight off, and leans heavier on his back; she's been using it as a point of reference to figure out where he needs to look.

“Look," Yuffie huffs, " _you_  wanted to work on pipes in the  _actual_ walls. That’s on you." Her voice gets that tone that it does when she wants him to just stop working. Aerith is more pleasant about it, and Cid is direct and upfront. Yuffie, on the other hand, likes to reason you into thinking her way. “Normal people would just break the wall down.”  _Like you’re not letting me do_ , she doesn’t say.

Even though he knows she respects him enough to not decide to take things in her own hands when he's directly in charge of the task, Leon refrains from pinching his brow at just the thought of what it'd be like. They'd be spending more hours trying to free their way out, and more unplanned destruction would mean chaos the infrastructure of the city. Admittedly though, she would be the best company for something like that.

Already, Leon is thinking back to the notes scattered on Merlin's table listing which parts of Hollow Bastion are too old for renovation. Yuffie would enjoy being in demolition, but she'd definitely need direction.

At the moment, Leon's hands rest on his knees. He takes another deep breath to steady himself. The frustration's mostly because they aren't able to work fast enough, and because he can see the flashlight's battery blinking red out of the corner of his eye no matter where he works. The multi-dimensional portal spell Merlin's taught Leon takes a dangerous amount of control, too. He supposes he's been too impatient trying to locate the leak.

There's a moment where Leon considers reaching out blindly to grope at the pipes, before the flashlight clicks on again and the light goes on to right itself at an angle at the ceiling within the wall where he can actually see what he’s doing.

He blinks, taken aback. Leon almost wonders aloud if Yuffie's changed her mind when he hears, “I’ll take over.”

(“I’ll take over."

Cloud’s fingers tightened over the handle of his buster sword. “I’ve got it.” His mouth was covered by the red scarf, but his eyes narrowed, defensive. "I don't need your help. Or your pity."

It was meant to spite him, but Leon ignored what Cloud wanted him to feel about it. He'd heard worse, from people who had criticized him for what they thought was naïve optimism about taking back Radiant Garden from the Heartless, or that it'd ever be the same as it was again. Leon didn't care about pity. He didn't care about empty words. He cared because hope meant something to him, and he knew it meant something to Cloud.

It meant something, that Cloud hadn't left when Leon had said he'd wanted to talk.

And, some part of him thought, that if Cloud were to have hope in him at the end of it, it wouldn't matter at all what Cloud said to him now.

Leon made himself look Cloud in the eye, because he'd been paying too much attention to the smaller things in Cloud's body language. Thinking about. Trying to understand. “You win more battles, you fulfill your end of the deal, and then what? Where do you go after this?”

And there it was—the stubborn furrow of Cloud's brow that Leon was more than familiar with; had known for too long in the days in Radiant Garden. Even after Cloud had disappeared with Radiant Garden into the darkness, Leon could only really ever picture him as he had last remembered seeing him: a boy with a furrow in his brow who Leon didn't necessarily dislike, and who didn't necessarily dislike a Squall for who he was.

When Cloud spoke, finally, he wasn't looking at Leon anymore. There was something else he was looking at, back at the Underworld. Leon had long since learned to notice how much smaller Cloud had let himself become: as though there was a line there pulling him away from other people, an isolation that protected.

“With you, you said?” Cloud asked, in the end.

But even Cloud considering, was enough.

Leon remembered the moment he had learned Cloud hadn’t been evacuated with the rest of them, hadn’t made it on the ship when the Heartless had swarmed their world and sunk it into darkness. He didn't know if Cloud remembered, or if Cloud particularly cared, or if Cloud blamed him then or still blamed him now. It didn't matter in the end. “You can’t do this alone."

"I could," Cloud said, but he was saying it, Leon understood now, because he was trying it out to himself. Letting Leon have the chance to argue with him.

What mattered, Leon felt, was this. “It’s faster.”

And what mattered, was Cloud said, "Okay.")

“Oh, thank god,” Yuffie says, a bit too loudly, breaking Leon out of his surprise. Her voice seems to be oozing with happiness at being able to tag out without compromising her stance. From behind him, Leon can feel Cloud almost stumble in the water, because Yuffie's done what Leon guesses is a quick leap-hug, if all the years of knowing her has given him any insight.

"Yuffie," Cloud is saying. The flashlight hasn't dropped out of his hand, but the light's not anywhere near the pipes, reflecting off the water and scattering jack-a-dandies along the tunnel walls.

“Cloud, you have no idea how much you’re a lifesaver. No take-backsies!" The echoes of her eager, more energized splashing begins to disappear into the distance. "Leonnn, I’m going to go patrol for Heartless!”

Leon has to blink once, then again, when he hears a small laugh after Yuffie's completely gone--Cloud's.

"So how did I actually save her life?" Cloud asks Leon, snapping him out of it, when he angles the light back to shine on the wall with the dimensional portal again. "Someone better than a wall to talk to?"

"From one wall to the next," Leon replies, but he's genuinely happy Cloud's here, because now he can get back to work.

In a dark wet space like this, where Leon is kneeling knee-deep in sewer water, the light held by Cloud’s steady hand is more than good enough. In a few minutes, he's found the source of the problem. On the bright side, leak’s not a big deal in the end, and thankfully not due to corrosion or else he’d have to replace an entire pipe himself.

On the not-so-bright side, they’re not iron pipes. They’re copper, which means Leon has to physically cut out the leaky part and put in a new one with pressure fittings. Just as he's trying to think about how to go about doing that, the light stutters.

Leon feels a well of stress build up, to the point he's almost ready to call it a day, packing up the big toolbox he's lugged all the way here with him. The multi-dimensional portal won't hold well if he's let a headache get the best of him, and Leon knows better than anyone the dangers of mana exhaustion. It's the exact kind of thing he tells Aerith not to worry him about for, because he knows his limits. Might as well put some magic into the flashlight's core and patch up anything else on the way back.

“Wait a second,” Cloud says, almost as if he can read Leon's mind. Leon's not sure what he's planning on doing, but Cloud clicks the light off. There's a moment or two of silence, then a small curse, and then a fizzle behind Leon's ear. The light clicks on again. Out of the corner of Leon’s eye, he spots the green flashing light. “Aerith had me bring a spare battery for you. Said you might need it.”

"Brought it out of the goodness of your heart?" Leon asks, just because he can.

A hand settles on the back of his neck. Leon's never been more self-aware that he's been trudging around in sewer water for the majority of the entire day (night?) or that he's just nothing really more than sweaty, and very likely stinky than the moment now.

Cloud doesn't seem to mind, though, because the coolness of Cloud's fingers come accompanied with a small pick-me-up that buzzes through his fingers and spreads energy back into Leon's limbs. When Cloud lifts them away, Leon almost leans back before he catches himself.

"A Cure for your hard work, before you ask," Cloud says, unknowing, maybe knowing. "Now let me see the pipe."

Appreciative, Leon holds his hand back and Cloud deposits the small tube fitfully into his palm. He clicks once. Twice. Swivels the light up in the ceiling, and casts a small Reflect the size of three fingers at the right angle so Cloud see specifically what he's been trying to guess at. It all comes so easily.

Even though it's only a Cure, Leon finds he can breathe easier with some restorative magic tingling in his veins, and already his head's clearer. For a moment, he also briefly wonders why he never asked Yuffie to Cure him.

Hearing Yuffie's sudden yells in the distance reminds him that he specifically told her to save her magic for the Heartless.

"Doesn't look too pretty," Cloud is saying, about the pipes, hands on Leon's shoulders.

Leon leans back. "Mm."

The inside of the wall is fine up until blackening becomes obvious, and the water damage congregates at one point in the upper parts. Leon’d already made several dimensional portals to make it easier to access—which might’ve explained the quickly draining battery or his impatience. There's one set up horizontally and a few portals set more adjacently between the studs.

“Power’s off for sure?” Cloud asks, after a bit, and the tone of his voice right next to Leon's ear implies that he’d rather Leon not electrocute himself by accidentally hitting a sparking cable in the wall.

Leon grunts instead, even if his ear feels warmer than the rest of him. He doesn’t mention that he’s been soaked long enough in water; if he hadn’t been electrocuted before, then it’s only really a matter of time now.

Cloud puts more weight purposefully on his shoulders, leaning onto his back. He’s obviously heavier than Yuffie; the weight is firmer, more familiar. Leon is surprised he likes it, shoulders relaxing immediately.

“That's new,” Cloud says, which is unlike him. Too open. Maybe it’s his version of an apology.

Leon still remembers how he said it before. Remembers Cloud’s body warmth withdrawing, his own eyes opening after what had felt like the longest time since he’d remembered what it was like to sleep. The expression on Cloud’s face then had said a lot more than what either of them were doing running all over Hollow Bastion now.

(Cloud had frozen, looking caught. The longer Leon looked, though, the more gradual his shoulders stiffened, until he looked almost embarrassed at being caught hovering over Leon. As if what had happened the night before didn't allow him to do it, or he didn't remember that Leon didn't care.

Still, it was a large change from the Cloud whose face had been near unrecognizable when Leon had first stepped on the Coliseum. So like Leon did then, he let Cloud decide what it was they were going to make of it: he said nothing.

Cloud scrunched his face up to the point Leon wondered if he'd wanted _Leon_ to decide it. The moment disappeared fast, though.

“You snore in your sleep now," Cloud said, and moved his face away to grab at his boots, one of the things that'd been tossed aside when they'd been too distracted getting clothes off. Leon watched him as he did it, watched the muscles of his back stretch beautifully as Cloud crouched down to tug it on, a purposeful distance away. Almost shy. "That’s new.”)

Leon's never wanted to say something more than now—except Yuffie is still in the vicinity, from what he can tell of the splashes he can hear around the area. “Maybe it's old,” he settles on. It can be read any way Cloud wants.

Cloud snorts. “Yeah?” he says, but his tone is remarkably softer—at least, to Leon, who’s been doing nothing but paying attention ever since he found him again. Cloud's read it his way. “Don’t waste your time.” Cloud's also decided they won't talk about it.

It's interesting, though. Cloud squeezes Leon's shoulders again, and his hands don't leave even when he takes the flashlight back from Leon.

Leon, though, isn't an over thinker. So he works.

He’s not sure how long it takes for him to cut a length good enough to replace it for a new pipe, or sand down the rough parts. Leon’s not even sure how long it takes for him to slide the compression nuts and rings over the ends, for the pipe to go in, or how long it takes to tighten the nuts. Time passes faster when Yuffie isn’t whining in your ear, when Cloud can be as patient as he wants to be for assisting menial labour.

Occasionally, Leon'll be jolted out from it, Cloud’s quiet breath against his neck.

(Cloud raced to his opponents and even if he wasn't good at magic, thundered through to strike them in two, while Leon preferred to bring them to him.

“Really?” Cloud demanded, panting from his own efforts. Adrenaline made him more communicative, as well as impatient. Their latest tag-team battle had shot them through the seeds without so much of an eyelash to bat, and Cloud seemed to trust him, even if he didn't necessarily seem to agree with him in the end.

“More efficient,” Leon explained, walking slowly. His hand was still in his pocket, powered-up Revolver easily hefted over his shoulder.

“Laziness, more like,” Cloud retorted, still breathing hard. Sweat was sticking to his skin the way a tan didn't seem like it wanted to, and he ran a hand through his hair as he struggled to catch his breath. But something seemed to occur to him, because he straightened up.

Driving his buster sword right down into the Coliseum sand, Cloud leaned against it, breath quieting, and gave Leon an appraising look.

"You're really something," Cloud said.

Leon swept his gunblade down for something to do. "Sounds like a compliment."

But then Cloud--Cloud smiled.

"Sure.")

Leon just knows he really gets the idea that they should figure out some way to test the integrity of the pipes when Cloud interrupts with, “Some of us would love to be able to sleep.”

It takes Leon aback, blinking. Suddenly he can feel it, the exhaustion and cold in his arms as they drop heavily onto his knees. “What time is it?”

“Time enough,” Cloud says. His hand squeezes Leon’s shoulder, a quiet acknowledgment of the hours that Leon’s put into it that is rare in their interactions these days. It’s one action; it shouldn’t really speak so much.

“Yuffie,” Leon calls, as Cloud checks that he's closed all the portals properly. The shimmering blue and orange disappear into brick walls with the familiar piping sticking out from odd angles. “Go back and report it’s done. I’ll be turning in later.”

Her voice echoes from one of the side rooms. “Finally! You want me to flip the breakers?”

"Flip the breakers," Cloud confirms in the kind of tone Leon knows is sly. "Squall might hurt himself if you don't."

Ironically, when he's gotten to his feet and turned to move, Leon trips against something heavy that he hadn’t expected was leaning beside the part of the wall they'd been working on. He falls, rather unspectacularly, into the water, and Cloud's quiet chuckle (cackle? no, he's not the kind to) answers him.

“Really?” Leon asks, exasperatedly, as though his own weapon hadn’t been strapped up and leaning right beside him in preparation for a Heartless attack of his own. Never can be too sure with these cramped spaces.

“Can’t help it if you don’t look before you leap,” Cloud replies wryly. "Even when you're not as cute as you used to be."

"I'm easier to look at these days," Leon replies, in kind. "Not sure I can say the same as you."

"Mm," Cloud concedes in amusement, and his solid hand helps Leon up from the water. "They do say you lose brains with beauty."

All of a sudden, the lights come back on. Leon's world is regulated to the practical, but his brain somehow goes under the understanding that everything's been fundamentally. Maybe it’s stupid. There’s never really been more of a literal explanation of darkness and light. But under the sudden lighting available in the sewers, Leon sees Cloud’s answering expression, and he thinks it's beautiful.

It's lit up, a grin that’s slightly larger than the small ones he’d allow to filter on in the time since they’ve reconnected.

The grin leaves Cloud's face the moment he realizes it’s obvious, but it’s really too late for him to hide it. Leon knows for sure now.

Leon says, “What’s that say about you?” His hand is on the hilt of Cloud’s blade before Cloud can even think about the idea of leaving. Leon doesn’t ask about ‘what ifs’ or ‘what could bes’, but he might be asking now. Doesn’t bring up the expression.

He expects Cloud to say something like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” something that points out the push and the pull, the denial, the moments where they treat each other like normal, like they haven’t known what it’s like on the other side, like they aren’t more comfortable with the quiet or the company. It wouldn’t be new.

It wouldn’t be anything at all, Leon could convince himself, and he would still spend his time going out of his way to check up on Ravine Trail where Cloud seems to make his peace. He would still go all the way back to the Coliseum to find him, and he'd fight side by side.

Leon isn’t a romantic.

But Cloud, in this moment, says, softly, “I think you know exactly what that says about me," and he reaches out to trail a finger against the beauty mark on Leon's chin.

And that says it all, about what Cloud is and what they are.

 

 

\--

**Post: (ty jay for this)**

"You know," Leon says, "this may be disgusting, but nobody will believe you."

Cloud blinks. "Sorry?"

They're in a position where Cloud is already standing, but Leon's still kneeling, and the sweat is driving Leon mad. So Leon just does it, turns his face into Cloud's shirt, and with one hand, uses it to wipe.

Cloud grunts in surprise, but he doesn't leave or move.

"Asshole," he says, when Leon's done. "Could've given me a warning."

"No fun in that," Leon replies, and if how smug he feels is coming through his voice, it's plenty fun.

**\--**

**Post:**

“They’re not  _that_  kind of soft on each other,” Yuffie says. She takes another bite of the cookie as she takes a look at the scroll of Things To Be Fixed that Aerith has put up on the wall. “I mean, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It isn’t, not really,” Aerith replies, but she’s half in between deciphering a hastily scrawled missive on Leon’s side and searching for one to check off. She’d do it better with computers, Yuffie knows, but Aerith prefers something less impersonal; Leon and Cid are the only ones who are comfortable enough with the computers anyway.

“Is that what you’re really asking me?” Yuffie asks. “I mean, it doesn’t matter so long as I can make fun of Leon.”

“I know,” Aerith says, “but I just thought it was important to bring it up.”

“So is it?” Yuffie wonders. “Important? I think Cloud's great. But not because he saved me, or anything, right? Reputation and all.”

Aerith laughs. “Well,” she says, and when Yuffie glances over, she’s tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “It is to me. You could say I’m a bit more invested in it because I want it to go well.”

“Thought so. You’re such a  _schemer_ , Aerith. If only Leon knew.” Yuffie jabs one finger down. “Hey, didn’t we fix the pipes yesterday?” At least, Leon did. Yuffie was the one he told to report it, so he honestly won’t be happy. Or was Leon slacking? Didn’t check to make sure it was working?

There’s a thought.

“Which ones?” Aerith replies, still absentminded. She’s distracted, but she did bring back cookies because she couldn’t sleep, and Yuffie doesn’t want to  _not_  respect her hard work, so she finishes the one she has. Licks the nicely melted chocolate off them. Grabs another. Priority for the Great Ninja Yuffie.

“I’m checking,” she says, stuffing an almost whole one in her mouth so she can taste it in one go.

Yuffie gives one tug down on the scroll. Like all of things enchanted with Merlin’s magic, you really know how to work it. Yuffie doesn’t realize how much she actually doesn't until she ends up squawking—the scroll shoots out and unfurls rapidly. It smacks her straight in the nose, and doesn’t stop lengthening. Like a measuring tape, it snaps all the way back to re-roll itself, only in reverse.

Yuffie stumbles before she can right herself, one-eye exposed to the world and the rest wrapped under magic-infused paper.

That is, by chance, when Leon enters the room. Or, probably when.

“Leon,” Aerith begins, “the pipes that you fixed—”

Somehow, he doesn’t seem surprised they broke. Or disappointed. Yuffie finds that  _very telling_ , even when he doesn’t even sound mad when he says, “I’m on it. Tell Cloud I don't have an extra battery.”

Yuffie waits an appropriate amount of seconds before Aerith calls out her name cautiously. "Are you alright?"

 “I told you,” Yuffie’s near-muffled voice says, as Aerith hurries to free her. She yanks out the part of paper that’s wrapped around Yuffie’s mouth. Yuffie breathes a big lungful of air. “I  _told_  you.”

“Told me what?” Aerith asks, half-exasperated, half-worried even as she cups Yuffie’s face in her hands.

Yuffie makes a face at her, but obediently lets herself be checked over. Left-side, right-side, head-up, and a gentle smile down at her. It’s habit by now, and Aerith releases her looking more than pleased.

“I told you,” Yuffie says, finally, and rolls her eyes, though not as exasperated. Maybe even a little happy for them, if you ask her. “They're _together_ -together."


End file.
